Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War: Press Releases

NEH and ALA award “Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the Civil War”
grants to 65 public, academic, and community college libraries

WASHINGTON (June 7, 2011) —Sixty-five libraries throughout the United States have been awarded grants by The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA) to host public reading and discussion programs around the Civil War.

In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the “Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War” series will engage participants in discussion of a set of common texts that probe the meanings of the Civil War. The selected titles for the series are: March by Geraldine Brooks; Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam by James McPherson; and America’s War: Talking About the Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversaries, a new Civil War anthology of historical fiction, speeches, diaries, memoirs, biography and short stories, edited by historian Edward L. Ayers and co-published by NEH and ALA.

Each library will receive twenty-five copies of Geraldine Brooks’ and James McPherson’s books and fifty copies of the Civil War anthology, a $3,000 grant from the NEH to support program-related expenses, promotional materials, and training for the library project director at a national workshop.

Participating libraries will plan a five-part series of reading and discussion programs around the chosen texts, to take place between October 2011 and May 2012. A full list of the libraries selected to host the “Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War” reading and discussion series is available here (3-page PDF).

“Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War” is supported by NEH’s We the People initiative, which aims to stimulate and enhance the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture.

Additional information on the project is available at: www.ala.org/civilwarprograms.

Dean B. Ellis Library Receives ALA and NEH “Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the Civil War” Award

The Dean B. Ellis Library is one of 65 public, academic and community college libraries throughout the United States awarded grants by The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA) to host public reading and discussion programs related to the Civil War.

In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the “Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War” series will engage participants in discussion of a set of common texts that probe the meanings of the Civil War. The selected titles for the series are: March by Geraldine Brooks; Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam by James McPherson; and America’s War: Talking About the Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversaries, a new Civil War anthology of historical fiction, speeches, diaries, memoirs, biography and short stories, edited by historian Edward L. Ayers and co-published by NEH and ALA.

Each library will receive twenty-five copies of the Brooks and McPherson books and fifty copies of the Civil War anthology, a $3,000 grant from the NEH to support program-related expenses, promotional materials, and training for the library project director at a national workshop.

In accordance with the grant, in Spring 2012 the Dean B. Ellis Library will host a five-part series of reading and discussion programs using around the selected texts to explore different facets of the Civil War experience. This timing will mark the 150th anniversary of the height of Civil War activity in Arkansas. Discussions will be led by project scholar Dr. Gary Edwards, Associate Professor of History, and will be coordinated by project directors Linda Creibaum and April Sheppard of the Dean B. Ellis Library. Additional assistance will be provided by the Library’s partnering organizations: the ASU Heritage Studies program and the Arkansas History Commission.

“Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War” is supported by NEH’s We the People initiative, which aims to stimulate and enhance the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture.

Additional information on the project is available at: www.ala.org/civilwarprograms.